


T'was the Night Before Forks

by MrsAlderaan



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 14:04:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11254467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsAlderaan/pseuds/MrsAlderaan
Summary: This is my take on Bella's last night in Phoenix.





	T'was the Night Before Forks

**Author's Note:**

> This drabble was written for the 2015 Better in Texas Fiction Members Only Contest. The prompt was Fire and/or ice is twice as nice.

I sat on the patio to my mother's Arizona home with a cup of cocoa in my hands and a sarape blanket draped over my shoulders. It's late evening, and a few crickets are lazily chirping nearby. With a smile, I sipped at the smooth, warm chocolate and pulled the blanket in closer around me. It's January 16th, and the winter chill had thoroughly set in, in the desert. People all over the city could be seen wearing heavy jackets and hats despite the fact that most of the country would laugh at the notion. Then again, for a native Arizonan, this is cold.

I turn my head at the sound of the sliding glass door, and smile when I see my mother standing there with matches and some old newspapers for kindling. "Bella, why don't we light the chimenea together one last time tonight?"

I slowly stood up and moved to the small, clay chimney. I threw four good-sized logs into the bottom before moving back to the bench I had been at. "I'm going to miss this." I breathed to Renee, trying desperately to hide my nervousness at the prospect of moving in with my father for the first time.

"Me too." She answered as she struck the first match and lit a perfectly folded piece of paper, expertly setting the wood ablaze. The difference in the air was palpable a moment later as the flames set the patio aglow with a soft, yellow light. "You know that you can always come visit, right?"

In that moment, I knew that a placating smile was plastered across my face. "I don't think it will be the same, but you know that I will."

"Oh, come on. You love the Arizona summers. When everybody else hides from the scorching, dry heat, you embrace it." Renee pleasantly cajoled.

I turned my body a bit in order to look at her better. "The summers here are amazing. I would take the hottest summer in Phoenix over an average snowy winter any day."

Renee slid closer and pulled me into her arms. "But, you have to do this."

"Yes." I answered solemnly as my eyes locked onto the flames flickering within the chimenea.

"You've always been so grown up, Bella. It's hard to believe that you're only seventeen." She said quietly as I took one last sip of my hot cocoa, finishing it off.

I leaned my head on her shoulder. "I'm still your little girl, Mom. Nothing's going to change that."

She sniffed, and her voice sounded a bit watery when she spoke. "I know. I love you, Isabella Marie."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes at the use of my full name. "Let's go to bed. We've both got a big day ahead of us."

With that, we walked from the chilled evening air, into the warmth of our home.


End file.
